Schottky diodes have desirable characteristics such as improved switching speeds and a lower forward voltage drop compared to PN junction diodes, base-emitter junctions in bipolar transistors or free wheeling diodes in DMOS transistors, for example. The Schottky diode can be used to shunt high transient currents which would otherwise pass through the PN junctions and possibly damage these transistors.
However, silicon Schottky diodes may have other undesirable characteristics related to reverse bias leakage and interfacial dipole which limit the breakdown voltage of the diodes.